For years the game of golf has enjoyed wide popularity as a favorite pastime for avid enthusiasts and beginners alike. One reason for this overwhelming popularity is that golf allows participants of all ages and skill levels to play the game as a social activity or a competitive sport, without diminishing the enjoyment for the individual participants.
The characteristics of golf are well known. The game is played on a golf course which, typically, has eighteen (18) holes. Each hole has its own distinctly contoured features and is designated as a par three, four or five. Each hole has a target pin located on a green which is a selected distance away from a fairway tee box. This distance can range from as little as about 100 yards to a distance in excess of 600 yards. The object of the game is to hit a golf ball from the fairway tee box to the green and into a cup positioned at the base of the target pin in as few strokes as possible. Accomplishing this task, however, can be quite challenging. A golfer has at his disposal a selected number of golf clubs, usually fourteen (14), with which he/she hits the ball in the direction of the target pin. Each golf club has its own characteristics and features which determine, generally, how far the golf ball will travel once it is hit and the trajectory that the ball will take during flight. Accordingly, many factors come into play which determine how well a golfer is able to play the game--contour of the particular hole, weather conditions and club selection to name a few. Without a doubt, the most important factor is the individual player's own ability.
As is true with most sports, golf is best learned through practice. Accordingly, most golf courses provide a driving range facility so that players may practice their golf swing either prior to or after playing. These driving ranges usually have several target pins positioned at various distances from the simulated tee box. The player can then practice a golf swing at his/her own pace with range balls which do not have to be retrieved once they are hit at the targets. Golfing lessons are also available to help players improve their game. The difficulty with either going to a driving range or taking private lessons is that this can be time consuming, inconvenient and expensive. Therefore, is it desirable to provide golf teaching devices which are both portable and inexpensive.
To address this need, numerous products have infiltrated the market in an effort to teach golfers the mechanics of a proper golf swing. One example of a personal use golf practice device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,798 issued Jun. 20, 1978 to Marpel. In this practice device, a golf ball is mounted to the proximal end of a cord whose distal end is connected to a rubber strap. The rubber strap is, itself, tethered to a cork-screw stake which is screwed into the ground. Design U.S. Pat. No. D319,092 issued Aug. 13, 1991 to Dennesen discloses a golf ball which is attached to a swing apparatus; when hit, the golf ball swings around the stake. Other improvements on this concept have resulted in devices which are now able to calculate the golf ball's travel distance and display this distance in yards for every swing. A sophisticated computer is able to deduct yardage based on the degree of resulting hook or slice.
Another example of a golf swing practice device involves a structure formed as concentric plastic rings which rest on the ground at an incline. The golfer practices his swing by standing in the center of the structure and placing the golf club within the area between the concentric circles. When executing the golf swing, then, the device reduces errors in swing mechanics by limiting the area within which the club may travel.
Other products address the importance of ensuring that the golfer knows how to properly hold the golf club while swinging. One such product is an injection molded grip which is made to accommodate a golfer's hands only when they are properly placed on the shaft of the club. While the grip is advantageous because it teaches one of the basic mechanics of a golf swing and can be used on the golf course, the golfer must purchase a grip for every club to enjoy any real benefit; thus, this product is used more often on the practice range.
While many of these inventions have their own advantages, such as portability, convenience and home-use, they are limited in their practical applications. With the exception of the grip discussed above, none of these products are able to be used by the golfer during real time play on the golf course. Moreover, these devices can be quite expensive and none of them particularly address the need for the golfer to master one of the basic, often overlooked, mechanics of a proper golf swing--the need for the golfer to keep his/her eyes on the ball and his/her head stationary throughout the swing. These devices, rather, teach other swing characteristics without recognizing the importance of this aspect of the swing.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved golf training device which can be used either on the practice range or during actual play. There is a further need for such a device to be lightweight, portable, and of small size so as not to encumber or distract the golfer while he is playing. The present invention, is directed to meet these needs.